Creative Incubator Artbox will develop projects across all art fields — and bring them to investors.
Creative Armenia, in partnership with the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia” (ITTD) project, officially launched the creative incubator Artbox on November 23 to provide comprehensive support to creative ideas with potential for commercial success. The program is accepting applications until January 21, 2022.
Inspired by innovative models in business and tech, Artbox is a reinvention of the incubator model for the art world — a dynamic entrepreneurial system that supports artists in developing their creative ideas in theatre, cultural tourism, film, music, design, and across all fields into commercially viable and investable creative products.
“It is not enough that an idea is brilliant,” said Creative Armenia founding director Garin Hovannisian. “Every idea needs an Artbox.”
The application is open for creators with projects from across the world to be realized within the boundaries of the Republic of Armenia. Preference is given to projects that have potential to: 1) contribute to the development of the three Northern regions of the Republic of Armenia’s (Shirak, Lori, and/or Tavush regions); 2) create synergies between the creative industries and tourism; 3) reach commercial success and excite investors.
“We contribute to the sustainable development of an innovative tourism sector in Armenia,” said Wilhelm Hugo, Team Leader of GIZ EU4Business Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia Project. “And by supporting art, culture, and the creative industries, we help bring an inspiring and inviting atmosphere to the tourism destinations.”
Through a 12-week incubation process in the Spring of 2022 — conducted digitally through a cutting-edge online platform — 25 selected projects will be given an unprecedented opportunity to work with prominent business leaders and renowned cultural figures to develop a comprehensive package around their projects, including a business plan, marketing strategy, website, video pitch, and financing plan. Once this package is ready, the artists will have the exclusive opportunity to present their projects for financial support, including possible grants and investments by high-profile cultural investors. To learn more about the incubator and how to apply visit the website: www.artboxarmenia.com.
Creative Armeniais a global arts foundation for the Armenian people that discovers, develops, and champions innovative talent across the arts. Artbox is supported by the EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia.’’ The EU4Business “Innovative Tourism and Technology Development for Armenia’’ project is co-funded by the European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by German Development Cooperation GIZ through the Private Sector Development and TVET South Caucasus Programme. The project is part of the EU4Business initiative of the European Union.
Parents and other relatives of missing and captured Armenian soldiers gathered outside the Armenian government on Tuesday evening to voice their indignation over the statements of National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan on prisoners of war (POWs).
A scandalous video recording emerged online earlier on Tuesday, in which the speaker can be heard saying, “I consider these POWs as non-existent”. According to Simonyan, the servicemen in question laid down their arms, fled and got lost, as a result of which they were captured by Azerbaijani forces.
One of the protesters, Arsen Ghukasyan, said that his son had gone missing for over one year.
“We have gathered here today to raise our voice. Who is he calling a deserter, my son? My child fought till the last bullet and it is not known where he is now. He has done more than all of them can do together,” the angry man said.
Ghukasyan noted that they were going to place the photos of 300 missing soldiers near the government building walls.
“These boys sacrificed their lives for the country. If your children don’t come home for a couple of days, what will you do?” he added.
A scene from the panel discussion held at CSUN
LOS ANGELES—Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia Dr. Arman Tatoyan has concluded his trip to California at the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region following a successful two weeks in which he engaged in meetings with community officials, elected officials, media and academic circles to report on the latest developments in the region.
Dr. Tatoyan’s trip kicked off with a meeting with the ANCA-WR Board of Directors and staff during which the discussion centered on the role which Diaspora organizations and communities can play in helping to secure the future of the Armenian Homeland.
During his two week mission, Dr. Tatoyan also held constructive meetings with community leadership which included Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, Bishop Torkom Donoyan, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, the Pan Armenian Council of Western United States, the A.R.F. Western USA Central Committee, AMAA, and H.E. Ambassador Armen Baibourtian, Consul General of Armenia to Los Angeles.
Several meetings with elected officials and government representatives also led to an exchange of concrete solutions and ideas on how the U.S. may use it influence to secure human rights for Armenian civilians and POW’s and help facilitate peace in the region, while simultaneously addressing the rising wave of armenophobia in the U.S.
Along these lines, Dr. Tatoyan held meetings with Congressmember Adam Schiff, during which he briefed the Congressmember on the recent Azeri invasion into Armenia’s eastern border, the illegal deployment of Azeri forces on the roads between Armenia’s towns and villages which endanger people’s lives and well-being, the unlawful detention of POWs, and the importance of international pressure for accountability. Dr. Tatoyan further thanked Congressmember Schiff for his recent statement about the attack and for his unwavering support for justice for the Armenian Genocide and a secure and prosperous Armenia and Artsakh. Congressmember Schiff asked many important questions and thanked the Ombudsman for the information, reaffirming that he will continue working with his colleagues to ensure that Azerbaijan is held accountable for its ongoing war crimes.
Dr. Tatoyan also met with the Lieutenant Governor of the State of California Eleni Kounalakis, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Myrna Melgar, and representatives of the San Francisco Mayor’s office. During these meetings, he provided a briefing on Azerbaijan’s latest acts of aggression against Armenia and its incitement and export of Armenophobic violence – noting how this global wave of anti-Armenian violence had reached the Armenian community in San Francisco.
Dr. Tatoyan met with the Los Angeles Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department, a newly established agency in the City of Los Angeles focused on addressing discrimination and injustice across the city’s diverse communities. Meeting with the department’s executive director Capri Maddox, Dr. Tatoyan discussed the threat of hate crimes against the Armenian community emanating from the state-sponsored incitement of anti-Armenian sentiment by the governments of Turkey and Azerbaijan – noting the spate of Armenophobic hate crimes across the world, including in San Francisco.
Dr. Tatoyan met with Consul General of Armenia to Los Angeles Dr. Armen Baibourtian (center)
On the media front, the ANCA-WR facilitated interviews for Dr. Tatoyan and RT America, where he discussed Azerbaijan’s incursion into Syunik and the capture of 12 Armenian prisoners of war. Dr. Tatoyan highlighted Azerbaijan’s repeated refusal to abide by ceasefire commitments, the immense human impact Azerbaijan’s ongoing aggression against Armenia has had on civilian populations, and the threat posed by Azerbaijan’s propagation of anti-Armenian sentiment.
Individual interviews were also arranged with foreign policy expert and political commentator Hagar Chemali for her “Oh My World!” show and Araksya Karapetyan of KTTV Fox 11 News, as well as Asbarez News, Horizon Armenian TV, USArmenia, PanArmenian television, and Zartonk Media. Dr. Tatoyan also spoke at a press conference to local and community media, providing a report on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border as well as presenting on his latest reports on Azerbaijan’s torture and abuse of Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives.
Dr. Tatoyan with members of L.A.’s Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department
Dr. Tatoyan’s trip also included a series of meetings with the ANCA-WR’s coalition partners, including Ramond Takhsh, Board Member of the Assyrian Policy Institute, which focused on the Assyrian Community of Armenia – the effects of the economic downturn following the pandemic on Armenia’s Assyrian community, the impact and sacrifices of the Assyrian community during the 2020 Artsakh war, and other issues related to political participation. Dr. Tatoyan emphasized that as the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the human rights of Armenia’s minorities – including Armenia’s significant Assyrian community – was an utmost priority. In turn, Takhsh thanked Dr. Tatoyan for his diligent work as Human Rights Defender and expressed his profound thanks for Armenia’s role as one of the few safe havens for the Assyrian people in the world today – emphasizing the inextricable links between the Armenian and Assyrian people.
Following the meeting with the Assyrian Policy Institute, Dr. Tatoyan visited the Los Angeles Holocaust Museum where he met with leaders of the Jewish-American community, including executive director of Jewish World Watch (JWW) Serena Oberstein, executive director of the Israeli-American Civic Action Network (ICAN) Dillon Hosier, executive director of the museum, Beth Kean, and Regional Director of AJC-Los Angeles, Richard S. Hirschhaut.
Within the Armenian community, Dr. Tatoyan visited the sites of the anti-Armenian attacks at the Krouzian-Zekarian-Vasbouragan Armenian School and the community center adjacent to the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco. The KZV Armenian school was the site of two separate incidents – an vandalism attack where anti-Armenian graffiti was plastered around school property, and a drive-by shooting of school property after hours – while the church community center, which housed the offices of the ANCA’s San Francisco chapter as well as other local community organizations, was severely damaged in an arson attack. The northern California leg of his trip culminated with a Town Hall Meeting in San Francisco, where he updated the community on recent developments in Armenia and presented information from his fact-finding missions.
In the Los Angeles area, Dr. Tatoyan headlined an ANCA-WR community town hall in partnership with the Armenian Youth Federation where he reported on the recent developments in Armenia and fielded a multitude of questions from the audience on a wide range of subjects, from Azerbaijan’s obligations under international law to protect the human rights of civilians and prisoners of war, to the need to establish a demilitarized security zone in the vicinity of villages in proximity to Azerbaijan’s military outposts.
Dr. Tatoyan speaking to Rose & Alex Pilibos Armenian School students
Dr. Tatoyan also visited the Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School in Little Armenia where he spoke to high school students about his role as the Human Rights Defender. Pilibos scholars asked him a series of questions regarding the rights of women and children in Armenia, the recent Azeri invasion into the sovereign territory of Armenia, and the rights of citizens in bordering villages. Dr. Tatoyan also had a chance to visit a classroom, where elementary students gave him hand-written cards thanking him for his selfless work.
The main event of Dr. Tatoyan’s trip was the ANCA-WR’s Grassroots Luncheon on Sunday November 21st, hosted at the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel where he was awarded the ANCA-WR’s “Human Rights Champion” Award in front of a sold-out crowd for his tireless pursuit of justice for the people of Armenia and the victims of Azerbaijan’s war crimes. Dr. Tatoyan was also presented with commendations by Senator Anthony Portantino on behalf of the Senate of the State of California and by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for his service to the Armenian nation. In turn, Dr. Tatoyan expressed his appreciation for the work of the ANCA-WR, presenting a certificate to the ANCA-WR, as well as to distinguished community members and legal experts Garo Ghazarian, Esq. and Karnig Kerkonian, Esq. for their enduring support of the Ombudsman’s office and for their efforts to hold Azerbaijan legally accountable for its violations under international law.
The next evening, Dr. Tatoyan participated in a panel discussion with leading international legal experts on the topic of justice and accountability in the wake of the Artsakh war that took place at California State University, Northridge and was co-hosted by the ANCA-WR, the University of California, Los Angeles Promise Armenian Institute, the UCLA Promise Institute for Human Rights, and CSUN’s Armenian Studies Department. Dr. Tatoyan was joined in conversation by Kate Mackintosh, executive director of the Promise Institute for Human Rights at the UCLA School of Law; Rajika Shah, director of the Genocide Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School; and Karnig Kerkonian, a seasoned international lawyer and legal counsel on Armenia’s case against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice.
The extensive discussion examined a range of challenges associated with the justice and accountability process, the importance of international monitoring and reporting, a comparative study between the case of Artsakh and other examples of remedial secession and the prosecution of racially motivated war crimes, and the opportunities at Armenia’s disposal to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its violations of international law.
Dr. Tatoyan returned to Armenia on Sunday, November 28 and immediately embarked on a fact-finding mission to the Syunik province to investigate the crisis situation along the border.
16:43, 3 December, 2021
YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The House of Representatives (parliament) of Cyprus unanimously adopted a resolution on the “Continuous aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenians and the current situation in Nagorno Karabakh”, the Armenian Embassy in Cyprus reports.
“The resolution condemns Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, urges to implement the provisions of the 2020 November 9 statement on the ceasefire, including the release of the captives. At the same time it calls on the international community to act in a way which will stop Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia, as well as urges the international organizations to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Artsakh.
The resolution also condemned Turkey’s involvement in the war unleashed against Nagorno Karabakh”, the Embassy said in a statement.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan
16:12, 26 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. President of Russia Vladimir Putin addressed the Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution and border incidents during his meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi, which will be followed by trilateral talks and then a bilateral meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
During the meeting with Aliyev, President Putin noted that Russian peacekeepers play great role in ensuring stability in the region.
“We will speak about the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh issue in a trilateral format meeting, soon the Armenian Prime Minister will join us and we will continue this discussion. I think that our peacekeepers have a role here. Unfortunately, there are issues, incidents, which happen not without victims, but that’s why we’ve gathered today, to see what’s been done and what has to be done not only to avoid such incidents, but for there to be the kind of conditions for de-escalation that would allow people in the region to live calmly, and for the countries to develop,” Putin said.
Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan
Armenia is building a new transit route for Iranian cargo and passenger vehicles after the Azerbaijan Republic imposed restrictions on the previous road.
After its completion, Iranian vehicles can use the Kapan-Datev road which is being reconstructed by Armenia. The road replaces the previous one, Kapan-Goris.
Azerbaijan controls approximately 20 km out of a 400 km route from Norduz to Yerevan. It captured the area during last year’s war with Armenia and claims sovereignty over the section.
Since last month, Azerbaijan has imposed strict regulations on Iranian drivers. This has caused major problems for Iranians passing through the 20-kilometer section of Armenia’s Goris-Kapan Road including having to pay tolls levied by Azerbaijani border guards.
Iran and Armenia had been seeking ways to bypass Azerbaijan.
In response to complaints by drivers, Armenia’s Minister of Regional Management and Infrastructure said the reconstruction work to prepare the new route is ongoing.
The Armenian official said the impassable section of the new road includes a steep slope that will be fixed and connected to the main road in a few months.
The Armenian government is also building a highway linking the north to the south. The pavement is concrete and there are eight tunnels on the highway connecting the Iran-Armenia border to the Georgia-Armenia border.
18:03,
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 16, ARMENPRESS. As of 17:00, the situation in the eastern border of the Republic of Armenia, where the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched an attack today, continues to be extremely tense, ARMENPRESS reports, MoD Armenia informed, adding that the intensity of clashes has not weakened.
“The adversary continues using artillery, armored vehicles and different caliber firearms. As a result of the retaliatory actions of the Armenian side, the adversary has suffered a large loss of personnel, about a dozen of armored vehicles have been destroyed”, reads the statement issued by the Defense Ministry of Armenia.
It’s noted that the Armenian side also has suffered casualties. The numbers are being clarified. 12 Armenian servicemen, including 7 contract servicemen, have been captured by Azerbaijani units.
By Vafa Ismayilova
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry has stated that Armenia attempted another provocation on the state border in order to create a military confrontation.
In an official statement posted on its website on November 10, the ministry said: “The Armenian side once again attempted to commit a provocation on the Lachin section of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.”
The ministry stressed that at noon on November 9, about 60 Armenian servicemen on two military trucks moved towards Lake Garagol in Lachin region and settled on the road leading to the Azerbaijani army’s positions.
“The Armenian side used metal obstacles to block the Azerbaijan army’s path between positions on this section of the border and attempted to strengthen itself in the area in order to create a deliberate military confrontation,” the ministry said.
The Azerbaijani army units stationed in this direction took immediate measures in the shortest time, concentrating additional personnel and military equipment in the area.
“As a result of the taken measures about 60 Armenian servicemen were under siege, all their actions were limited, and in the morning, taking into account the request of the Russian side, the Azerbaijani servicemen allowed the Armenian servicemen to return. We state that the military provocation of the Armenian side has failed,” the ministry stated.
It pledged “harsh and more effectual measures” if similar provocations repeat in the future.
“We hope that this time disgrace of the Armenian army will be a lesson learned and they will not take such provocative steps in the future. There are no losses among the military personnel of the Azerbaijan army, as well as territory loss. The Azerbaijan army units control the operational situation. The entire responsibility for the recent tension that occurred on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border falls on the military-political leadership of Armenia,” the ministry said.
The Azerbaijani foreign and defence ministries earlier described Armenian Defence Minister Arshak Karapetyan’s visit to Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region as Armenia’s another provocative act.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva underlined that this shows that Armenia is deliberately trying to aggravate the situation.
“And the fact that these steps were taken on the eve of the first anniversary of the signing of the trilateral statement serves the purpose of casting a shadow on the activities of the Russian peacekeepers, and in general, this is a violation of the provision of the trilateral statement,” she stated.
Moreover, the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry described Karapetyan’s unauthorized entry into the Azerbaijani territory, holding meetings with illegal Armenian formations and expressing views on their combat readiness as a military-political provocation.
“The political and military leadership of Armenia, grossly violating the provisions of the trilateral statement, attempts to destabilize the situation in the region and overshadow the activities of Russian peacekeepers,” the ministry stressed.
The ministry emphasized that the visit of the Armenian defence minister once again demonstrates that Armenia continues to directly support irregular Armenian military units, aggressive separatism, and terrorist acts on the Azerbaijani territory.
“We would like to remind the Armenian defence minister of the fate of his former colleagues and other Armenian generals who made utopian claims such as ‘impassable Ohanyan line’, ‘new wars, new territories’,” the ministry stated.
“We warn the military-political leadership of Armenia that in case of a continuation of such illegal visits to Azerbaijan’s territory, the necessary measures will be taken to prevent aggressive separatism and terrorist acts in accordance with the legislation of Azerbaijan,” the ministry added.